The present disclosure pertains to charging devices and systems, and more particularly to charging devices and systems for providing electrical charge to one or more robotic mobile drive units.
Modern warehouses move products on a vast scale. In some cases, such as in certain types of order fulfillment centers or sortation centers, products are housed in pods, which are four sided shelving units on metal frame and legs. The pods are moved about fulfillment centers by mobile drive units. Mobile drive units are robotic devices that may, for example, navigate autonomously or at least semi-autonomously along a warehouse floor. The mobile drive units can have center drive wheels, front and rear casters, a lift unit (for lifting and lowering the pod before and after movement), and a navigation system (including one or more of an upwardly facing camera and a downwardly facing camera), all of which can be enclosed within a housing. The top of the housing includes a circular opening that a lift, such as a turntable, extends through. The turntable also is connected to a turntable motor such that when the pod is on the turntable, the turntable turns the pod to orient the face of the pod as desired. The mobile drive units of a warehouse are typically electrically powered by batteries, which require either periodic recharging and/or interchanging.